Understanding Inbound and Outbound Call Center Services

Posted on Mar 24, 2010 11:36:30 AM

A call center is an arrangement of people that is used to provide customer care solutions and support functions. Within these two sub-domains, a call center offers a range of services, of which inbound and outbound call center services are the most important.

Inbound Call Center

At an inbound call center, customer calls are received by the call center executives. When a customer initiates a call, he is transferred to a pre-recorded answering machine terminal. Here, the customer is asked to select the query type from a list of options. Based on specific customer requirements, the call is later transferred to a call center executive for query resolution.

An inbound call center usually offers a wide range of services, which includes:

* Answering service
* Order taking service
* Customer service
* Inquiry handling
* Technical support service
* Help desk support

The inbound call center process involves a range of sophisticated technology, such as call routing, live answering machine and dedicated software.

Outbound Call Center

Executives at an outbound call center are responsible for initiating communication with existing or prospective customers. The interactions with the customers are mostly recorded through a specialized software program. Outbound call center services are used for lead generation, telemarketing and collections. However, they also offer the following services:

* Appointment setting services
* Sales & email marketing
* Email follow up
* Voice broadcasting services
* Direct response services

Since both inbound and outbound call center services involves customer interaction, they should be dealt with great care and efficiency.